Basketball goals are purchased by the general public for home use and by schools and other organizations that provide athletic and recreational facilities. The regulation height of a basketball goal is too high for some of the smaller children, and thus, supporting structures have been developed which provide for the basketball goal to be lowered below the regulation height when the need arises. One such adjustable supporting structure is shown in Barson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,676, issued Oct. 16, 1973.
However, prior art supporting structures that use mechanical adjustments can be difficult to adjust because of the weight of the structure itself. Thus, some prior art structures, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,676 utilize counterbalancing springs to make it easier to adjust the goal upwardly and downwardly. This of course adds to the cost and provides a certain amount of danger should the springs break.
In addition, prior art supporting structures are designed so as to receive the backboard-goal combination which is normally bolted or otherwise fastened to the supporting structure. These are adequate for most purposes, but with the current "dunk" craze, players more frequently hang on the rim and can tear the goal from the backboard. There is therefore a need for a method of securing the goal to the supporting structure so as to minimize tearing away of the goal if a player hangs on the rim. Also, there is little standardization of the mounting for the backboard-goal combinations, and adaptation of the supporting structure to receive the various mountings adds to the cost of the supporting structure.